Hi, I’m Suzy Plantamura, a member of CK’s Dream Team. I’m a kid at heart, and I love to color! My purse always has markers in it for my girls and me to draw and color with any time we’re sitting still (at church, at restaurants, on long drives, and more). I draw the pictures, and the girls stay quiet while they color in the pictures!

Markers are a perfect way to express creativity and add a bit of personality to scrapbook projects as well. For example, I made this “Elf Obsession” layout primarily with just cardstock and markers.

Techniques on This Layout:
I went a little crazy with markers on this layout, but it was so fun to make! Here are a few techniques I used:

* I drew the border on the layout with markers and then cut around its edges.

Notice the drawn border, the glittered letters, and the colored elves.

* I customized title letters by cutting them out of cardstock with the Slice by Making Memories, and then I added dots with a Gelly Roll pen. The pens are slow drying, so I added glitter to the dots while they were still wet.

* I outlined my photos with two colors of markers.

* I love elves, and my girls and I drew and colored them throughout the holiday season. I added a pocket to the back of my layout to include all our drawings.

* I used a black Ultra Fine Point Sharpie to draw the elves on cardstock, and I colored them in with Gelly Roll pens by Sakura—they are so fun to work with and glide on for perfect coverage! To make a color softer (such as when coloring skin tones), you can just use your finger to smear the color around.More Techniques

The next layout I made also uses markers in many spots—see if you can find them all!

Did you find them all? Check the list here:
* First, I outlined the entire page with a silver Sharpie and outlined my photos with a white Uni-ball pen.

* I added small, white snowflakes to my title letters with the Uni-ball as well.

* I colored the edges of the transparencies with Copic markers.

* I added color to the edges of my punched borders with a pink marker.

* I colored acrylic snowflakes with markers to match my page.

Color Acrylic Accents

Follow these step-by-step instructions to color your own acrylic accents:
1. Remove plastic covering from both sides of an acrylic accent (if applicable).
2. Color one side of the snowflake with two colors of Copic markers, adding a lighter color over the entire accent and a darker color on just the edges. 3. Use a silver pen to draw lines on the same side of the snowflake. 4. If you make any mistakes and want to remove color, use the Copic Colorless Blender pen—it removes even Sharpie ink!
5. Turn snowflake over and use a white pen to add details to the front of the accent.

6. Tie a knot in a ribbon and pull it through the center of the accent; attach it to the layout with sheer adhesive.

My Favorite Pens

Here are some of my favorite markers and what I use them for:

* Uni-ball Signo by Newell Rubbermaid: The white Uni-ball is (in my opinion) the best white marker! I use it to journal, outline photos, and add details to embellishments. It is slow drying, so you can add glitter to it or emboss with it.
* Pigma Micron by Sakura and Ultra Fine Point Sharpie by Newell Rubbermaid: I use these two markers for journaling. The Pigma Micron pen comes in different tip sizes (I use the 05 style) and are pigment ink that is waterproof. The Sharpie is also permanent and great for use on transparencies or slick surfaces.
* Copic Markers: These pens are alcohol-based pigment ink, refillable, and will cover anything including metal, transparencies, ribbon, and acrylic. They come in tons of colors and different tips, with one tip on each end of the pens.
* Zig Writers by EK Success: These pens come in 48 colors and are pigment-based ink that is waterproof. I use the fine tip to journal and the thicker tip to color in items.
* Glaze, Soufflé, and Gelly Roll by Sakura: These markers are so much fun! They come in numerous colors and types of ink. I use them for coloring, because they blend well and smear great for lighter application. Glaze and Soufflé pens are slow drying, so you can use them to add glitter to or emboss a project.
* Stampin’ Write by Stampin’ Up!: These markers are great for coloring in designs using the brush tips. They have water-based dye ink, so although they have a fine tip, I don’t use them for journaling.
* Silver- and Gold-Leafing Pens by Krylon: These pens are fun for holiday projects! I use them to outline my pages or pictures, and they adhere well to any surface. The Sharpie Metallic markers also work great on slick surfaces.

I hope this blog post motivates you to pull out your markers and use them to add a bit of creativity to your scrapbook pages and craft projects. Embrace the kid in you, and have fun coloring!

—Suzy Plantamura

Free Font Friday

Don’t let thoughts of a several goals for the new year stress you out. Instead, enjoy a relaxed feel with the CK Easy Goin’ font available for free download as part of Creating Keepsakes’ Free Font Friday. You’ll find a new free font available next Friday (and every Friday) as well.

I can’t believe the new year is already upon us. Where does the time go? If your life is anything like mine, then 2009 flew by before you could take in all that was going on. The year had its ups and downs—the expected and the unexpected. It was full of change—some of it good, some of it not so good; some of it by choice, some of it not by choice.

As I contemplated the past year, I decided my main goal for 2010 is to make more of life’s changes be determined by me. Not just changes in circumstances, but changes in me. Stampin’ Up! makes a stamp set entitled “Define Your Life.” I love this set, not just because it makes great scrapbook pages and cards (which it does), but because its title speaks to me as well. I, probably like most of you, feel I can use a little more definition in my life.

This year, I’m determining to define my life. To define what I want to be, where I want to go, and how I’m going to make that happen. To not just let life happen, but to make it happen.

It’s said that in order to achieve your goals, you have to write them down. I’m going to take a little spin on this theory and create a Define Your Life journal for myself, with a 6″ x 6″ page dedicated to each aspect I want to be, do, or learn over the next year. I’m not worried about creating every page right now. I’ll be adding to the journal as the year goes on. I’ll still be working on scrapbooking the events in my life, but I’m hoping that having these other types of pages will remind me to actively work toward making my life what I want it to be.

Maybe you’d like to spend more time with family,

"Ready, Set, Bump" by Pam Callaghan, as seen in the January 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes.

travel more,

"Downtown" by Kelly Purkey, as seen in the January 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes

achieve something big,

"Paris Marathon" by Sande Krieger, as seen in the January 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes

work on a talent,

"How Does Our Summer Grow?" by Jing-Jing Nickel, as seen in the January 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes

or just delight in the little things this year.

"Delight in the Details" by Amanda Johnston, as seen in the January 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes.

I’d love to hear from you about it. How do you keep motivated to make positive changes in your life, and how do you document those changes? Drop me a line in the comments section of this post, and let’s keep each other motivated to make 2010 the best year yet.

May this new year bring everything you hope and dream it will.

To help some of your dreams come true, two lucky winners will recieve a selection of Stampin’ Up! clear mount blocks, a stamp set, and either a package of patterned paper or a corner punch. Simply leave a comment on this post, and two lucky winners will be drawn on January 5th.

Happy New Year!

—Lara Penrod, managing editor

Free Font Friday

As you celebrate the new year, enjoy this holiday treat to you as part of Free Font Friday—a free download of the CK New Year’s Day font.

With our December 2009 issue already out and our January 2010 issue right around the corner (can you believe that?), it’s time to announce our 2010 Dream Team. This talented group of 10 women will bring you fresh designs in every 2010 issue of our magazine, as well as act as stellar magazine representatives at various events and activities.

Let’s get to their names and faces (and a few get-to-know-you questions), shall we? Drum roll, please . . .

2. What is your favorite technique? Stitching, either by hand or machine. A close second would be painting.

3. If you were allowed only one scrapbooking embellishment to use on a layout, what type of embellishment would you choose? Buttons or decorative brads. It would be so hard for me to choose just one type, though.

1. How long have you scrapbooked? I started paper scrapbooking in 2000, shortly after my first daughter was born. I was actually one of those people who swore I would never try digital scrapbooking. Ha. Can you imagine? It was five years later when I realized I was drafting every layout on the computer and using it to design and print my text. Piecing everything together manually turned into the last step, as if it were almost an afterthought. Finally, when my toddler ate half a layout and repeatedly date-stamped his shirt, I reluctantly walked through a Photoshop tutorial. I completed my first digital layout in 2005, and I was completely and utterly in love. I still thank my then-destructive two-year-old son for helping me find my passion.

2. What is your favorite technique? I don’t know if it’s officially a “technique,” but I love using bold typography on my layouts. The fact that you can create art using just letters and numbers is so fascinating to me. Honestly, I get excited over the placement of text. (I’m still not sure if I should be alarmed by that or not.) While I love fonts and have over 1,000 of them on my computer, I use the same journaling font on around 90% of my pages. At first, I seriously thought I needed a support group. I’ve since embraced it and actually found that using the same font provides a sense of continuity in my albums. Hmm. Who knew?

3. If you were allowed only one scrapbooking embellishment to use on a layout, what type of embellishment would you choose? Interesting question. Since most of my layouts are digital, I am going to claim the “digital brush” to be an embellishment. Brushes add so much to a layout and can range from graphic and bold to soft and subtle. I love the flexibility and freedom they provide. You can adjust the color, size, opacity and blend mode. You can combine them, delete portions . . . the list goes on. It’s complete creative control. I love that!

4.Where do you look for design inspiration? Everywhere. While I love to be inspired by clever design found in advertisements, books, billboards, movie posters and CD covers, I also find myself being inspired by the small things. An unusual color scheme found on a candy wrapper, the texture of a blanket or a spoken phrase heard over the radio have all sparked scrapbook layouts.

6.What do you like most about scrapbooking?I love the fact that this amazing hobby allows me to combine my passion for my family with my passion for design. I love that it provides a creative outlet where I’m free to try cool, new things, to experiment and to play. But mostly, I love what it allows me to leave for my family. It’s more than documenting what they wore for Halloween or what they received for their birthdays. Granted, that’s important information. But even more so I want them to know how much they are loved. I have always considered each layout to be a “love note” that just happens to contain a sprinkling of life events. To me, that’s what scrapbooking is all about. And that’s why I love it.

2. What is your favorite technique? Anything using foam adhesive. I love the depth and dimension it adds to pages.

3. If you were allowed only one scrapbooking embellishment to use on a layout, what type of embellishment would you choose? The one thing I can’t do without is patterned paper. I love mixing different colors and patterns and finding funky combinations.

4. Where do you look for design inspiration? Home-design blogs and ads on Nick Jr. (Seriously, there is some great stuff there.)

5. How would you define your scrapbooking style? Layered, fun and a little whimsical.

6.What do you like most about scrapbooking? I like that I’m not only doing something I love, but I’m actually being productive by documenting my family’s story.

1. How long have you scrapbooked? Nearly five years. I started when my little boy was six months old. I wanted to journal his life in a creative, meaningful way.

2. What is your favorite technique? Coming from a fashion background, I love stitching and using fabric. Paper crafting and creating my own embellishments also make the list.

3. If you were allowed only one scrapbooking embellishment to use on a layout, what type of embellishment would you choose? Alphas, definitely alphas.

4. Where do you look for design inspiration? Fashion, craft world, photography and interior design.

5. How would you define your scrapbooking style? Feminine with a touch of whimsy.

6. What do you like most about scrapbooking? I love that it satisfies me on so many levels: my need for a creative outlet, my love of writing and my interest in photography. Above all, the most important reason is to leave a legacy for my children.

1. How long have you scrapbooked? I have scrapbooked for about 14 years now. I started a year before my oldest daughter was born.

2. What is your favorite technique? Collaging is a technique, right? I love to collage my layouts together–whether it’s making photo collages or just arranging my photos and patterned papers into a collaged look to fill up the page. It’s like piecing together a puzzle, and I just love arranging things until they fit together to my liking.

3. If you were allowed only one scrapbooking embellishment to use on a layout, what type of embellishment would you choose? This really isn’t fair to all the other fabulous embellishments out there, but I would have to pick ribbon. The majority of my layouts have ribbon used in one way or another. Since ribbon can be used in so many ways, I never get bored with it.

4. Where do you look for design inspiration? My main inspiration comes from either my photos or product. Great photos can be the starting point for so many layouts. If the photos don’t inspire me, then most likely product will. I’m very product driven, and I will often create layouts just because I want to use certain products or papers, without even knowing what photos I am going to use. So my layouts have been known to start with photos or end with photos. Both ways work for me.

5. How would you define your scrapbooking style? My style is definitely clean and linear, with a lot of straight lines. I gravitate toward bright, fun colors, and I love to use many photos on my layouts. I’m also a big fan of embellishments, and I love to find the perfect amount of fun “stuff” to complete my layouts.

6. What do you like most about scrapbooking? I love that I’m recording memories and events. Just by looking at their scrapbook albums, my girls will always know what happened in our lives. But I think what I love most about scrapbooking is the creative release it gives me. I spend most of my days doing mundane, everyday things over and over. So I feel my happiest when I get some creative time every day to play with paper and embellishments and to have something pretty to show for my time at the end.

1. How long have you scrapbooked? I started back in high school and have been hooked ever since!

2. What is your favorite technique? Right now my favorite technique is color misting. I love to use masks, stencils and anything I can get my hands on that will combine with the color mists to make a cool effect!

3. If you were allowed only one scrapbooking embellishment to use on a layout, what type of embellishment would you choose? My first answer would be patterned paper, but I guess that isn’t really an embellishment. Assuming I can’t use patterned paper, I would say chipboard. You can do anything with chipboard and customize it to work with any layout.

4. Where do you look for design inspiration? Everywhere! Seriously, I am always thinking in creative mode, and I see everything around me—nature, fashion, type, ads, magazines, home decor, photography, etc. Somehow it all mixes and combines in my head and eventually translates into what I create.

5. How would you define your scrapbooking style? Eclectic for sure. I love to mix things–different colors, different patterns and different mediums. I hardly ever use items made to match. Instead, I use bits and pieces from different lines and manufacturers. Combining everything together is where the magic happens for me.

6. What do you like most about scrapbooking? I love two things about scrapbooking. I love that I’m capturing and recording our family story. Our lives pass by so quickly, and I can’t imagine not having all my albums to look back on. The second thing I love is the creative process and the fulfillment and joy I get from scrapbooking. It just feels great to pull all these beautiful products and mediums together to make something that is so unique and meaningful to my family and me.

Sara Winnick

1. How long have you scrapbooked? I’ve been scrapbooking since my daughter Anna was born in 2002–seven and one-half years!

2. What is your favorite technique? It’s impossible to choose just one! I have a thing for clear embossing, but I also love piecing together various elements to create cool titles.

3. If you were allowed only one scrapbooking embellishment to use on a layout, what type of embellishment would you choose? Only one? It’s a toss-up between chipboard hearts from Heidi Swapp for Advantus and Flair from American Crafts.

4. Where do you look for design inspiration?Real Simple magazine never fails me. 🙂

5. How would you define your scrapbooking style? I love bold colors and stripes, so I often use them on my pages.

6. What do you like most about scrapbooking? I love creating new pages, but there’s nothing quite like flipping through old layouts remembering. I scrapbook for so many reasons, but to remember is the biggest reason I love this hobby.

2. What is your favorite technique? I love to machine-stitch and sew little tidbits to my pages.

3. If you were allowed only one scrapbooking embellishment to use on a layout, what type of embellishment would you choose? Hmmmmmm. That’s tough! I’d probably have to go with rhinestone brads from American Crafts–they are a current favorite of mine!

4. Where do you look for design inspiration? Home decorating magazines, various favorite websites and storefront displays.

5. How would you define your scrapbooking style? Clean and colorful with a few fun twists thrown in!

6. What do you like most about scrapbooking? I love that scrapbooking has become my “job” and that it allows me to stay at home with my toddler-aged son, while at the same time allowing me to preserve my family’s photos and memories.

1. How long have you scrapbooked? I’ve been scrapping forever. I made scrapbooks in high school with memorabilia, cards, schoolwork, etc. The only difference was they didn’t have any pictures! Once I had Sophie (who is now ten), I started scrapping the way I do now, with lots of photos and journaling.

2. What is your favorite technique? Anything that includes markers–I love hand journaling, doodling, adding borders or coloring in stamped images. Markers are so much fun!

3. If you were allowed only one scrapbooking embellishment to use on a layout, what type of embellishment would you choose? Probably ribbon—I can’t seem to make a layout without it.

4. Where do you look for design inspiration? I don’t spend a lot of time getting inspired. As soon as I see pictures and products, I feel ready to go! When I make the time, I find inspiration everywhere! Catalogs, magazines, books, posters, nature, fashion, home decor–it all speaks to me! If I really wanted to get inspired, I would blog hop more often. Again, time prohibits my ability to do this, but there are so many online resources available to inspire us scrappers!

5. How would you define your scrapbooking style? I’d like to say whimsical, but I don’t always feel that from my pages. But I try! My mathematical mind wants things neat, tidy and aligned, but my creative side wants things messy and artistic. I struggle to balance the two. I wish I could scrap more freely without any constraints!

6. What do you like most about scrapbooking? There is nothing I don’t like about scrapbooking. I like every little bit of it–from starting with buying products to taking the photos to designing the pages. It’s all soooooo fun! There’s nothing more fun to me than getting a new box of products (especially if they’re free!) and sorting them all and organizing them. It’s pure heaven for this girl!

1. How long have you scrapbooked? Forever! I remember helpling my mom when I was a little girl. We used rubber cement (yikes!!) to glue school papers, birthday cards, etc. into a big, green scrapbook. I made my own high-school scrapbook in a magnetic photo album (yikes again!). After I married, I discovered Pebbles in My Pocket on my lunch break one day. I’ve been scrapbooking (safely) almost every day since then!

6. What do you like most about scrapbooking?I really enjoy being creative, but I think my favorite part is seeing my kids enjoy the pages in their scrapbooks. I’m glad they’ll always have a record of the cute things, fun events and interesting family stories from their childhoods.

***

We’re thrilled to have each of these talented gals on our CK Dream Team for the coming year. They have already brought so much to our magazine and are sure to inspire you in the year to come.

Thanks to Our Dream Team Sponsors
To get their CK year off to an awesome start, we sent each of these gals a lovely welcome gift provided by our 2010 Dream Team sponsors. A great big thank-you goes out to the following incredible companies:

A New Contributing WriterIn addition to announcing our Dream Team, we have a talented new contributing writer to announce. Mou Saha, a wonderful member of our 2009 Dream Team, has joined our writer roster. We’re delighted to have her working with us in this capacity next year! Congrats, Mou!

A Note from YouNow, please join us in welcoming our newest creative crew by leaving a comment. You’re welcome to suggest ideas you’d like to see them cover in the year ahead, or you can simply give them a happy e-hello. Either way, we know they’ll love hearing from you!

This card only requires a few strips of ribbon, some simple stamping, a little embossing, a few gems and a bit of cardstock for the base, making it a great card choice when it comes to designing in bulk.

Money-Saving Tip: When creating cards in bulk, it’s a good idea to use supplies that stretch, such as stamps and dies.

Here’s the same card in a different color palette.

Money-Saving Tip: Scraps are perfect for creating cards in bulk. If you run out of one color, as was the case with my ribbon bits, don’t be afraid to switch to another happy hue from your stash.

JOIN THE FUN
Now, it’s time to turn on your favorite holiday music, pour yourself a cup of cheer, and get ready to celebrate WCMD 2009! Here are a few ways you can join the celebration:

Visit the WCMD website. It’s brimming with card ideas from your favorite scrapbooking manufacturers, a list of stores around the world participating in WCMD events and ideas for hosting your own WCMD parties.

Join the “Countdown to WCMD” blog bonanza, where you’ll find a huge assortment of holiday cards on various designers’ blogs. The fun starts today and runs through Oct. 2. Find participating blogs here.

Save some money. In honor of this big day, we’re offering 25% off of any one item in our online store. For the coupon code, visit any of the participating “Countdown to WCMD” blogs.

Go on a worldwide creative tour with Paper Crafts creative editor, Cath Edvalson. She is featuring scrapbooking manufacturers from all over the globe on her Moxie Fab World blog. And, we’re willing to bet you’ll find an awesome giveaway or two while you’re there.

Get inspired by this week’s guest blogger. Maren Benedict, Paper Crafts Go-To Gal, will be visiting our blog to share her cool card ideas this Friday.

Feeling lucky? Excellent! Enter your favorite holiday card in the WCMD card contest. You could be one of 20 winners to receive an amazing card-making prize package (below) valued at more than $185! Visit the WCMD website to participate in the contest.

CREATE WITH ME
Speaking of holiday card-making, I’d love to have you join me in the card classes I’m teaching for the University of Utah this fall.

Handmade Cards & Gift Wrap: Learn new techniques and walk away with tons of card and gift-wrap ideas to share this season. Plus, you’ll receive a grand assortment of products from scrapbooking manufacturers you know and love.

YOUR PLANSFeeling festive? We’d love to hear how you plan on celebrating WCMD ’09. Leave us a comment and let us know what you’re up to. Whatever it is, we hope your day is merry and bright!

Cheers!
Megan Hoeppner, Creative Editor

P.S. Be sure to check the Giveaways tab at the top of the page to discover the winners of last week’s blog contests!

Saying goodbye to a holiday weekend can be difficult, so to help ease you back into the regular routine, I thought I’d share a project I created for a friend this weekend. Wanting to make a colorful statement in an open corner of her craft room, I turned a hanging frame set from IKEA (below) into a pretty paper accent for her space. The project was so easy (I finished in less than an hour). Here’s how you can get the same look in your home in no time.

1. The frames are 6″ x 6″, which works perfectly with 6″ x 6″ paper pads like the one I used from Stampin’ Up! If you don’t have smaller paper packs, go ahead and trim regular patterned paper down to size.

2. Decide on the word you want to spell (there are five frames in a set) and gather letters. Since this was for my friend’s craft room, I used chipboard letters to spell “craft.” Before adding the letters, I “painted” them with white pigment ink.

Tip: The frames need to sandwich together, so you’ll want to select fairly flat accents for your frames. Or, to add more dimension, don’t be afraid to sandwich the paper on the inside of the frames and add your accents to the outside.

3. To speed up the process, use a heat gun to dry the ink. (Note: Keep your gun at a safe distance to keep the letters from getting too hot, and use tweezers to keep your fingers at a safe distance.)

4. Adhere your letters and any other flat details you’d like to your paper.

This IKEA set comes with five frames, but you can always combine a second set for longer words.

This project would be fun in a child’s room with his or her name. You could also spell “Family” and have the frames hang from a main room in your home.

This project will twist and turn slightly as it dangles, so you’ll want to use double-sided paper. Or, if you want to get really ambitious, you can decorate both the front and the back of each paper—just remember that you need to keep your projects flat enough for the frames to close.

Flip the frames for a fun banner look. It would be easy to switch out the inside pieces for different holidays and events.

Try this on your next layout. Create a mini “hanging” title down the side of your page with ribbon between each square.

I hope this idea inspires you and makes easing back into your routine after the long weekend just a bit easier.